Furscape MUCK

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====== NOTE ======
//These are guidelines for roleplaying the long-distance communications aspects of Furscape. - Hagaalaz//

====== Telecommunications ======
Planet-wide communication is handled much the way it is now, with dedicated networks of satellites, ground stations, trunked networks, and so on.  United Telephone is an example of a wireless provider with networks on nearly every populated world.
 
Interplanetary communication is handled by various broadcast media which are still limited by the speed of light, making instantaneous communication nearly impossible.  Text-only, audio and video recordings are the medium of choice for long-distance communication, and as a general rule, will take minutes to hours to transmit between worlds.
 
Interstellar communications are handled by both automated and manned spacecraft.  Sol, Iridia, and Thinora systems each have one pair of dedicated hyperspace-capable craft, nicknamed "express boats", and each system also has an express boat tender: a mothership that services and refuels express boats, and serves as a local clearinghouse for messages to be relayed outsystem and insystem.  
 
While each express boat is being serviced, it dumps the contents of its secure memory to the tender for broadcast in-system, and receives outgoing messages from the tender for transport to other systems.  Once the express boat is ready, it returns to hyperspace and heads to one of two other destination systems.  Generally, the routes are as follows:

  * Sol A: Runs from Sol System to Iridia System and back - 24h per leg.
  * Sol B: Runs from Sol System to Thinora System and back - 24h per leg.
 
  * Thinora A: Runs from Thinora System to Sol System and back - 24h per leg.
  * Thinora B: Runs from Thinora System to Iridia System and back - 12h per leg.
 
  * Iridia A: Runs from Iridia System to Sol System and back - 24h per leg.
  * Iridia B: Runs from Iridia System to Thinora System and back - 12h per leg.
 
While the Thinora B and Iridia B routes are a nearly a third shorter than the other routes, express boats generally run only twice a day, rather than run an odd number of legs per day.

As a general rule, interstellar communications can take days, between encryption, prioritization, transmission to tender, transfer to express boat, [[space travel|travel]] through hyperspace, transfer to tender, and transmission from tender to destination world for decryption.
 
Felios and Amazonia Systems are special cases, since neither planet has a large enough population to justify the expense of maintaining a dedicated pair of express boats.  In order to send a message to either system, a special-delivery courier must be chartered (or a passing starship must be contacted), and the message relayed directly via that courier.  Again, total elapsed time between initial broadcast and final receipt can take days.  While the actual data transfer steps may be reduced due to a lesser number of ships involved, it takes nearly as much time, if not more, to transport the message due to the greater distances involved.
 
Express boats, as a general rule, enjoy neutrality similar to Uncia's spaceliners, due to the nature of their mission.

====== Starship Communications ====== 
//OOC Note: Shipboard comm systems go here, too.  Again, communications are limited by speed of light, so perhaps specify an OOC convention that ships use specific comsys.muf channels for each given system?//